Author: marionvermazen

I am a traveler, hiker, avid reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, Spanish and French language student, knitter and genealogist. I am retired after working for almost 30 years in the Computer Industry. I live in Reno, Nevada with my husband Duke.

Puno – Monday, October 24, 2016

Today was a rest day in Puno on the shore of Lake Titicaca. We are staying at the Terra Viva Hotel. This morning we went down to the artisanal market on the lake shore and did some shopping. Duke bought an alpaca sweater vest and we also bought a table runner. 



We also bought tickets to go out to Isla Taquile tomorrow. We are planning to spend the night in accommodations on the island and return on Wednesday. Which means we probably won’t have internet tomorrow night. 

This afternoon we napped and did a bit more shopping. I bought some baby alpaca yarn. 



We had an excellent dinner at Restaurante Giorgio Eirl. We started with shrimp soup. Then Duke had alpaca and I had trout. 



Chivay to Puno – Sunday, October 23, 2016

Sunday morning we got a taxi from our hotel into Chivay. While we were waiting in the square for our bus a couple of cute young boys asked if we wanted pictures with their lamb and baby llama and baby alpaca. We said no but then Duke got into a conversation with them and we decided to take a picture. 


To get from Chivay to Puno we took a tourist bus. It is the first time we have done that on this trip. We had a guide and we stopped for a snack, a sandwich and coca tea. 

The trip was six and a half hours. We went through the Aguada National Park and saw lots of wild vicuña. Back in 1976 vicuña were put on the endangered species list. They were hunted for their wool. There were only 6,000 left. Now there are 350,000. 


Tonight we are in Puno on the shore of Lake Titicaca. I think this is the highest altitude we have ever spent the night except perhaps on the hike up Mt Whitney many years ago! We are at 12,580 ft. 

Colca Canyon – Friday and Saturday, October 21-22

We made it! Friday we hiked down 3,500 ft to the bottom of Colca Canyon. We stayed in a small cabin, had dinner and shared a beer by the pool and Duke went swimming. You have to buy tickets to hike in the canyon. Each ticket costs $21. 





Saturday we hiked back up again. We spent the night in a hotel near Chivay. The hotel clerk warned us to let the water run for five minutes to let it get hot.  When the water got hot the showers sure felt good. 

Arequipa to Cabanaconde – Thursday, October 20, 2016

This morning we caught a bus leaving Arequipa going up into the mountain.  Arequipa is at about 7,800 ft. We went over a 16,000 ft pass eventually ending up at the town of Cabanaconde on the edge of the Colca Canyon. We are at 10,780 ft tonight. The mountains, the villages, the terraced fields, and the road were all pretty amazing as you can see in this picture taken from the bus window. 


We are staying at a nice hotel called Kuntur Wassi. Our room is round!


We had a great dinner tonight. I had alpaca medallions with a quinoa risotto. 


And Duke had alpaca with Andean herbs. 

 Colca Canyon is 3,182 meters (10,440 feet) deep which makes it one of the two deepest canyons in the world. From where we are the hike to the bottom is about 3,500 feet. Our plan is to hike to the bottom tomorrow,spend the night and hike back out on Saturday. That means no internet for the next couple of days. 

Arequipa – Wednesday, October 19, 2016

We spent the day today in Arequipa. Our hotel,  Katari, is one of the nicest we have stayed at on this trip. It is located right on the main square. We ate breakfast on the roof overlooking the square and the volcanoes in the distance. 



This afternoon we toured the basilica. 


From the roof we had an excellent view of the square and the volcanoes above the town. 



Afterwards we shared a beer overlooking the square. 


We had a wonderful dinner at the restaurant Chi Cha.